TIME : August 12, 2015 6:30 P.M. (21:30)
PLACE : The lower levels of the Marrot V
"It's hard to believe all those murders occurred over a year ago," said Logan.
"So many people are still afraid to come down here."
"Yeah!' agreed Fern.
Fern was a little heavier than she was a year ago, but other than that she looked more or less the same. She was seventeen and ready to enter adulthood. Logan on the other hand had grown dramatically. He was almost as tall as his sister and would soon overtake her. In spite of his newly found height, he still looked younger than his actual age of fourteen. The lower levels were still used mostly to store cargo, but the passengers remembered what had happened to people who went down to the lower-levels alone the year before and were less anxious to go down there. When they did have to go down to the lower levels, they traveled in groups usually taking a member of the crew with them. Because of their hypo-psycotic power, Fern and Logan were not afraid to explore the lower levels. It was a place they could go when they wanted to be alone. The crew periodically checked the lower levels to make sure no one was secretly using hypo-psycotic powers and Fern and Logan had agreed to do their part. As long as the Ruler's empire existed, the Marrot V was in danger. "Whose turn is it to check the machine?" inquired Logan.
"I believe it's your turn," Fern replied.
"It's always my turn!" protested Logan. "I did it last time and the time before that and the time before that!"
"If you thought it was my turn why did you ask me?" demanded Fern. "I checked the machine last week while you were practicing your telekinesis. I didn't bother to tell you until now, but I'll be glad to check the machine if you want me to."
"I'll go!" snapped Logan. "From now on when you check the machine tell me when you get back."
Logan journeyed alone towards the hypo-psycotic power amplifying machine. As soon as the dust cleared from their incident with the Ship of Death, Rinquin had moved the machine to a secret location. Only Rinquin, his wife, Kara, and his children, Fern and Logan, knew where it was. 7.As soon as he reached the machine, Logan began a routine inspection to make sure the machine had not been used since last time they checked it. He had done the inspection hundreds of times and didn't expect anything unusual. The machine felt warm. Either something was wrong with the machine or someone had been using it. In either case the problem had to be diagnosed and reported to Rinquin. Logan looked at the controls and noticed that the settings were slightly different from what they had been. Only one possibility remained. "Fern! Come quickly!" yelled Logan. "Someone has been using the machine!"
TIME 10:00 P.M. (22:00)
PLACE: Rinquin’s Study
Fern and Logan gathered all the information they could about what had happened to the machine and reported it to Rinquin. Rinquin was concerned, but he wasn't worried. He had learned a long time ago that panicking wasn't the way to solve problems. "Are you sure the controls were tampered with?" asked Rinquin.
"The controls were almost where they should be, but not quite," Logan informed him.
"One of us would have noticed the difference and corrected it, but the average person would think the controls were where they were supposed to be."
"Was the machine damaged?" wondered Rinquin.
"It's still in perfect working order," Logan assured him. "It was warm when I touched it so whoever used it hadn't been gone very long when we arrived."
"This wasn't the work of an amateur," added Fern. "If we hadn't been checking the machine regularly, we never would have found out."
“I’ll check with Drake and see if anybody else went down to the lower levels in the last three hours,” declared Rinquin. “and in the morning I’ll contact M.W.G.D. and see it they have any ideas.”
"M.W.G.D. won't come unless we have solid evidence," grgiled Fern.
"The worst that can happen is they'll say they can't help us," reasoned Rinquin. "You never know if you don't try. We'll keep an eye on the machine around the clock."
"I'd recommend moving the machine again," suggested Logan.
"That's a good idea," agreed Rinquin. "Let's do it right now." TIME August 13, 2015 9:00 A.M. PLACE M.W.G.D. Headquarters Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa were on their way to Shawn's office when they ran into Detrina. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" she asked them.
"Shawn wants us to come to his office," Peter explained. "He probably wants to send us on another mission."
"If he does, ask him if I can come too," pleaded Detrina. "I need a change of scenery."
"I'll see what I can do," promised Peter.
Detrina returned to her duties while Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa entered Shawn's office. "I want you to return to the Marrot V,11 ordered Shawn as soon as they were seated. "Rinquin believes someone is using his hypo-psycotic power amplifying machine." "Is it just someone who is power hungry or is the Ruler involved?" inquired Li,~a. "We have no way of telling," Shawn continued. "We don't even have any suspects. I want you to go to the Marrot V as soon as you possibly can. Rinquin knows far more about hypo-psycotic powers than I do. One more thing, take Detrina with you. She's been bugging me about never getting to go anywhere."
"It will be our pleasure," smiled Peter.
TIME: 2:00 P.M. (14:00) PLACE: The docking bay of the Marrot V As soon as they arrived on the Marrot VI", they were met by Drake, Fern, Logan, and another person they had met before but didn't expect to see on the Marrot V.
"Orn?" gasped Peter. "What are you doing here?"
"Things-'were getting boring for my on Triax,11 Orn said smugly. "I had just returned to Capitol City when I heard the Marrot V was looking for a new security officer. Needless to say, I got the job. I tell you the details later. Right now, I'll act as your guide." "They can go on a tour of the ship later," argued Fern. "First, they need to talk to our father. He's the only one who knows what we're up against."
"We can't afford to waste any time," added Logan.
"They're right," stated Peter sympathetically. "We need to talk to Rinquin first, but we'll be happy to g6 on a tour of the ship with you when we're done. What other changes have happened since the last time we were on the Marrot V?11 "Corteja, our new Science Officer, joined almost immediately after you left," explained Logan.
I'Marnia was promoted to First Officer and Drake became our new captain. We also had two other security officers before Orn joined us, but I can't even remember their names. Other than that, not much has changed." "We shouldn't keep Rinquin waiting," declared Orn. "The sooner we talk to him, the sooner I can take you on a tour of the Marrot V.11 "You sure are ambitious," chuckled Peter.
"It comes with the territory," retorted Orn.
TIME 2:15 P.M. (14:15)
PLACE Rinquin's Study
Rinquin and Kara were seated at a table reading something. They did.n1t even notice when the group entered the room.
"The M.W.G.D. officers are here," announced Fern.
"I don't believe we've met," stated Kara. "I'm Kara, Rinquin's wife and Fern and Logan's mother. I was helping the passengers last time and didn't get a chance to meet you.,, "How do you do, Kara?" greeted Peter. "This is Detrina and I believe the rest of us know each other."
"Glad to meet you," said Detrina.
"I've noticed the four of you have gotten a promotion since our last meeting," noted Rinquin.
"Our work on the Marrot V is what got us our promotion," stated Hank. Rinquin, Fern, and Logan took turns explaining what had happened since last time Peter, Hank, Linda, and Lisa were on the Marrot V. They payed particularly close attention to the parts dealing with hypo-psycotic powers. "Have you had any trouble until now?" wondered Peter.
"This is the first time we've noticed anything out of the ordinary," replied Rinquin.
"This person doesn't want to do anything stupid to give himself away like Tanbrook did. If we hadn't been checking the machine periodically,.we still wouldn't know anything was wrong." "I'm sure you'd like to meet the others," insisted Orn.
"They'll get a chance to do that at tonight's conference," Rinquin reminded him. "Drake wants all of us to attend, including the people from the Milky Way Galaxy Defense."
"I can take them on a tour of the ship in the meantimeill declared Orn. "What's so important about this tour of the ship?" inquired Lisa.
"You'll see," hinted Orn.
"I think you should go on a tour of the ship,," agreed Rinquin. "We've made so many changes since last time you were here that you'll need to relearn your way around." "Thank you for your time," sighed Peter. "We need all the help we can get."
"You're the ones helping us," responded Rinquin. "I don't know what we would do without you.”
" I think the first place we need to go is the captain's quarters," suggested Orn.
"Lead the way." commanded Linda.
Orn stopped when he saw Fern and Logan were following him. "I want you two to stay here," he grumbled. "I'd like a chance to talk to them alone. You'll have plenty of time to spend with them later when I'm through."
"You always have to do everything first," complained Logan.
"It was my idea to take them on a tour of the ship," argued Orn. ,If you wanted to do something with them, you should have said something earlier." "You're making too much noise out here," an elderly man complained. "I'm trying to do some research."
"Strillan, it's good to see you again," laughed Peter. "You came just in "Are Fern and Logan giving you trouble again?" demanded Strillan. "Someone should really discipline those two. They think just because they have hypo-psycotic powers they should be in charge. The word responsibility is not in their vocabulary." "I want to talk to the M.W.G.D. officers alone, but Fern and Logan won't let me," explained Orn. "They have no knowledge of the word privacy either." ,9 "We're going!" yelled Logan. "You don't have to constantly insult us." "Come with me," ordered Fern. "I know something better we can do." "Thank you, Strillan," Orn sighed with exhaustion. "You saved me a great deal of trouble." "Don't mention it," Strillan sympathized. "Those two are constantly getting on my nerves too." On the way to the captain's quarters, Orn and the M.W.G.D. officers ran into Grendlin and Wentar. They were doing more or less the same things they had been doing last time. They asked the M.W.G.D. officers what they had been doing and they told them about their numerous encounters with the Ruler. When they were through, Grendlin and Wentar said good bye and headed down to the lower levels to do some exploring of their own. Soon after that, they reached the captain's quarters,,but Orn surprisingly did not go inside. He stopped at the door and sniffed the air.
“Everybody hide!” he cried. “We’re being followed!”
Copyright MCMXCV, MM
